Communications
by carpe bagel
Summary: They say separation makes the heart grow fonder. A look at Ichigo and Rukia's relationship, overseas. Oneshot.


_I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

* * *

_

_"Ichigo, this is a huge opportunity for me. Please, understand that." _

_"..."_

_"I don't think you get it. This school has been my _dream_ since I heard about it. Ichigo, I'm not asking for your permission to go."_

_"But _damn, _Rukia. America is halfway across the freakin' planet!"_

_"But that doesn't mean we have to lose touch. It's 2010, Ichigo. There's phones, e-mail, texting, it's not like we can never talk to each other again. I'm just a phone call away."_

_"Whatever."_

_"...You know how to reach me."  
_

...

...

...

**Username: **zangetsu15  
**Password: ********  
_Login Successful! _

_Displaying 6 of (15) friends._**  
chappychan14 **(Rukia)**: **_This user is idle._ Jetlag, man!  
**bustybabe **(Rangiku)**:** Slumber party in my basement, anyone? ;DD  
**abarai **(Pineapple)**:** Studying. ffff.  
**uryu-ishida **(Ishida)**: **_This user is busy._  
**karategirl **(Tatsuki)**: **Hi-YAH!  
**bubblychick1234 **(Orihime)**: **Hmm, what to eat for dinner tonight? Suggestions, anyone?  
**quietguy12451 **(Chad)**: **Hm.

...

**zangetsu15: **hey, you there?

_Message sent at _6:15PM.

**zangetsu15: **Rukia?

**zangetsu15: **It's important.

_Message sent at _6:19PM.

**zangetsu15: **Oh, right. It's like, really early morning in America. Sorry.

_Message sent at _6:21PM.

**zangetsu15: **I miss you.

_Message sent at_ 12:56AM.

...

...

...

_"You've reached Rukia Kuchiki! I'm probably busy at the moment, so leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible! Bye!"_

That girl sounded way too happy in the voice message. Ichigo sighed in frustration. There was no point in leaving another message, he'd already left eight.

...

"You have eight new messages, and 16 missed calls," said the robotic voice of Rukia Kuchiki's cellphone.

_"Hey, Rukia. Just checking up on you. Call back, okay?"_

_"Rukia, how's America treating you?"_

_"Hi Rukia. Met anyone yet?"_

_"They don't have Chappy in America, do they? HAH!"_

_"Well.. Call back soon."_

_"Everything okay? It's been nearly a day with no calls."_

_"I think you know what this is going to say."_

_"Uh.."_

"Eight messages saved to archive."

...

...

...

**TEXT MESSAGE FROM **_****__'RUKIA'  
__Sent 8:09AM: _Sorry Ichigo. I didn't get any of your messages until just now. But really, calm down. I'm fine.

...

**TEXT MESSAGE FROM **_**'ICHIGO'  
**Sent 8:11PM:_ I was just worried. This is the farthest we've ever been apart.

...

**TEXT MESSAGE FROM _'RUKIA'  
_**_Sent__ 8:12AM: _C'mon, Ichigo. This isn't some sappy love story.

...

...

...

**Username: **chappychan14  
**Password: ************  
_Login Successful! _

_Displaying 3 of (35) friends._**  
zangetsu15 **(Ichigo)**: **_This user is idle._ Pretty tired.  
**bustybabe **(Rangiku)**:** WASTEDDKJSNF  
**bubblychick1234 **(Orihime)**: **Oh, it's late! Time flies, doesn't it? :D

...

**bubblychick1234: **RUKIA-CHAAAAAAAN!111!

_Incoming message from **bubblychick1234 **_(Orihime)_!_

**chappychan14: **Orihime! :D

**bubblychick1234: **Everyone in Karakura misses you!

**bubblychick1234:** _NOTHING _IS FUN WITHOUT YOU!

**chappychan14: **D:

**bubblychickYou234: **Especially Ichigo!

**chappychan14:** How can you tell?

**bubblychick1234: **Well.. I guess I've just known him for a long time. He's not the same.

**bubblychick1234: **Yeah! I offered him some of my lunch, like always, except this time he didn't refuse it!

**bubblychick1234: **And he hasn't punched Keigo since you've left!

**chappychan14: **Kick him in his balls for me, will ya? He's being stupid.

**bubblychick1234: **He really misses you, though.

_Message sent at _1:24PM.

**bubblychick1234: **I think I should go to sleep now. There's a 12 hour difference, you know!

**_bubblychick1234_**_ has signed off._

...

...

...

_Welcome,_**_ Ichigo_**_!_ _You have (1) unread e-mail._

**FROM: **chappychan14 (_Rukia)  
_**SUBJECT: **So, Orihime told me...

Orihime told me you've been acting weird since I left. Cut it out! And stop spamming my phone!

-Rukia

P.S: There's a break coming up so I was thinking I'd come back to Karakura for a small vacation. You up for it?

P.P.S: They _do _have Chappy in America.

...

_Welcome, **Rukia**! You have (1) unread e-mail._

**FROM: **zangetsu15 (_Ichigo)  
_**SUBJECT: **Re: So, Orihime told me...

Really? I didn't notice. But now that I think about it...

-Ichigo

P.S: Of course I'm up for it.

P.P.S: Damn.

...

_Welcome, **Ichigo**! Compose new e-mail?_

**TO: **bubblygirl1234 _(Orihime)_, karategirl _(Tatsuki), _quietguy12451 _(Chad), _uryu-ishida _(Ishida), _abarai _(Pineapple)  
_**SUBJECT: **Rukia's Surprise Party

Hey guys.

Rukia told me she's planning to come back to Karakura for her break, so I was thinking we could plan a party. Y'know, a celebration. Since I'm not really the party guy... Ishida, I put you in charge. You can invite anyone, I guess. But not Rangiku.

Ichigo.

...

...

...

Ichigo punched the phone number into his phone and pressed dialed. _"Hello?"_ The person on the other end sounded as if they had just woken up.

"Hey."

"_Ichigo? Do you have any idea what time it is here?"_

Ichigo glanced at his watch. "I'd say about 3AM."

_"And _why _are you calling me at 3AM?"_

"I dunno."

_"Ichigo, I swe-"_

"I guess I miss you."

The person on the line sounded taken aback, for a moment. _"Oh."_

"Goodnight."

There was a chuckle,_ "Good afternoon."_

Click.

...

...

...

Ichigo had never thought he'd buy a webcam. But here he was, searching for the perfect one. He had been looking for a good one- If he was going to spend his money on a webcam, it might as well be decent.

And so, after hours of searching, he'd finally found one that met up to his standards.

...

**Username: **chappychan14  
**Password: **********  
_Login Successful! _

_Displaying 6 of (35) friends._**  
zangetsu15 **(Ichigo)**: **_This user has not set their status._  
**bustybabe **(Rangiku)**:** ohhh myyy goddd that partyy wass amazzingg... iss anyonee elsee feelingg dizzyyy?/?  
**abarai **(Pineapple)**:** _This user is idle. _Sleep.  
**uryu-ishida **(Ishida)**: **_This user is busy._  
**karategirl **(Tatsuki)**: **I won nationals again. It was too easy.  
**quietguy12451 **(Chad)**: **Contemplating life's greater mysteries.

_Incoming Video Chat from **Ichigo**. _Accept or Decline?_  
Invitation declined._

_..._

Halfway across the globe, Ichigo cursed.

...

...

...

Rukia's answering machine was going crazy. For the better part of the night, all she heard was Ichigo's voice mumbling "You okay"s and "Miss You"s through the phone. She sighed.

That boy was hopeless.

...

_"You'll answer my phonecalls, right? Even if they're in the middle of the night?"_

_"I can try, Ichigo."_

_"And you'll respond to my texts?"_

_"Yeah, yeah."_

_"Rukia.."_

_"What?"_

_"...Please be safe."_

...

Rukia had promised him that she would always answer the phone if she could, always talk to him if he was online, always respond to his texts.. but why wasn't she doing any of that? Had he done something wrong?

Ichigo sighed to himself. He didn't want to be a bother, but he needed to know she was okay.

_"You've reached Rukia Kuchik-" _Click.

...

...

...

_Welcome, **Ichigo**! Compose new message?_

**TO: **bubblygirl1234 _(Orihime)_, karategirl _(Tatsuki), _quietguy12451 _(Chad), _uryu-ishida _(Ishida), _abarai _(Pineapple)  
_**SUBJECT: **Rukia

Has she been avoiding anyone else? Or is it just me?

...

...

_Welcome, **Ichigo**! You have (3) unread e-mails._

**FROM: **uryu-ishida _(Ishida)  
_**SUBJECT: **Re: Rukia

I probably haven't tried to talk to her as much as you have, but when I do, she usually responds.

...

**FROM: **bubblygirl1234 _(Orihime)  
_**SUBJECT: **Re: Rukia

No.. I talk to her a lot! And she always responds to my texts!

...WHAT IF SHE GOT ABDUCTED BY MAN-EATING MONSTER!1!

...

**FROM: **chappychan14 _(Rukia)  
_**SUBJECT: **Break

Some things have come up.. I don't think I can come back for break.

Sorry, Ichigo.

...

...

...

Rukia mentally cursed. She couldn't believe she was doing this- it was her life, why should he have such a big influence on it?

_"Now boarding for Non-stop flight to Tokyo, Japan."_

She took a breath, and boarded the plane.

...

...

After many attempts to call Rukia's cellphone, Ichigo decided it was time for him to call her landline, just in case she left it somewhere.

_The number you have reached has been disconnected._

The phone dropped right out of Ichigo's hand.

...

...

...

It was late at night and Ichigo Kurosaki was breaking down. None of his friends had heard from Rukia in nearly two days. She could have been kidnapped, or even worse, killed. Ichigo paced back and forth in his room, until suddenly, his phone rang.

_"Ichigo?"_

"Rukia?"

_"The one and only."_

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU'VE BEEN IGNORING ME FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS AND-"

_"Calm down, Ichigo. I'm fine."_

"Che."

Silence.

"...Your landline was disconnected.."

_"I know, Ichigo."_

"Why?"

_"Because I don't need it anymore."_

"What do you-"

The phone nearly dropped out of Ichigo's hand, when he saw Rukia Kuchiki standing at his door. She looked down, for a moment, before meeting his gaze. She laughed, "I guess I missed you."

* * *

_**A/N: **Meh. That's all I have to say. The only reason I wrote this was because it was midnight and I was bored and I enjoyed formating words on fanfiction so. These are just unrelated, unfinished thoughts about what I think it'd be like for Rukia and Ichigo to be seperated. There's very little plot, half of this was written was I was half asleep, my keyboard barely types, so if it sucks, it's entirely my fault. Lol._

_also this is probably really choppy too, because it's a bunch of drabbles made into one story.  
_

_Anyway, reviews are always appreciated for whatever reason, even if it's a flame. Because hey, at least you cared enough to leave one._

**_SUPER AWESOME ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWESOMENESS_**

_I'm going to start writing a multi-chapter Ichiruki fic soon, so be on the lookout!_

_

* * *

_

A year later, Rukia took a semester abroad in Europe to study the arts. Naturally, Ichigo took it upon himself to call her up everyone once and a while, and by once in a while, he meant every hour.

_"You've reached Rukia Kuchiki's phone," _Ichigo sighed, _"Please leave a message and I'll try to return your call. Unless you're Ichigo, in which case, GET A LIFE. Bye!"_


End file.
